About 18.5 percent of Alabamians live below the federal poverty line, but the percentage varies widely by county. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Black Belt counties have the highest rates of poverty while metro areas have the lowest.

“Poverty is not a state of mind; it’s a complex series of barriers that hardworking people have to overcome every day,” said Kristina Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible, the statewide nonprofit that released the report.

Times Daily:Food insecurity a major concern for children, elderly
With the recent release of this year’s Poverty Data report by Alabama Possible comes the realization that the state, and Colbert, Franklin and Lauderdale counties locally, exceed the national percentage of people considered food insecure.

By the report’s definition, food insecurity refers to multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns, and reduced food intake or reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet.

The report shows the national food insecurity level at 13.4 percent. The state is more than 4 percent higher at 17.7 percent.

Nearly 900,000 Alabamians, or 18.5 percent of those in the state, live below the federal poverty line, according to a report released last week by Alabama Possible, a statewide nonprofit organization that removes barriers to prosperity.

Alabama’s poverty rate is higher than the national average of 14.7 percent.

Lagniappe: Poverty, the constant foe
Poverty is so common in Alabama it can be hard to see.” This oxymoronic, or seemingly self-contradicting, statement was made by Kristina Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible, in a news release concerning the organization’s recent publication of its 2017 Alabama Poverty Data Sheet.

The study is conducted and published yearly to serve as a data set and policymaking guide for state and local leaders focused on eradicating the stubborn barriers to economic prosperity and a better quality of life for many Alabamians — barriers that in our part of the country have been, unfortunately for some, passed down from generation to generation. If the American dream is to live better and more comfortably than one’s parents, for many this has never been any more than just that — a dream.

Lee County’s poverty rate also dropped from 25.2 percent in 2016 to 21 percent in this year’s Alabama Poverty Data Sheet released on Wednesday by Alabama Possible, a statewide nonprofit that works to remove barriers to prosperity.

This year’s report marks the first since the recession hit in 2009 that Alabama’s poverty rate has dipped under 18.9 percent, which Alabama Possible Executive Director Kristina Scott said is a sign that Alabama is finally recovering from the recession.

According to the sheet, nearly 900,000 Alabamians live below the poverty line, which is just $24,257 a year for a family of four.

“Although Alabama’s overall poverty rate slightly declined, and our median household income is up, we still have work to do. The rest of America recovered from the recession at an even faster pace, and the gaps between Alabama and the nation’s poverty rate and median household income are bigger than ever,” said a release from AP.

Tuscaloosa News: Study: Poverty declines in region
Despite a decrease in poverty compared to last year, West Alabama is still one of the poorest areas in the country, according to figures compiled and released by a nonprofit group called Alabama Possible.

The organization was founded in 1993 and has been distributing information on poverty in Alabama annually for almost a decade.

According to its 2017 Poverty Fact Sheet, Alabama is the sixth-poorest state in the nation, and the southern parts of West Alabama have some of the poorest counties in the state.